Monthly Archives: November 2016

Some people in life were born to upset the natural order of things. Not content to wait in line for their shot. Trent Seven is undoubtedly one of those people. When he made his ICW debut in a blistering encounter against Mark Coffey around 2 years ago, his talent stood out from the word go. A man who could stand toe to toe with the best strikers in the game and stick with them every step of the way, often getting the better of them with an apparent immunity to pain on his side. He bedded in to the company with a forearm war against a guy known as “The Power Forward” on his first night; Evidence enough that he could hang with the very best, but who would have thought back then as ICW stand on the verge of their biggest show that he would be the man challenging for the ICW Title in the main event? Perhaps only the man himself, but Trent went out and earned that spot after a string of outstanding performances, including a valiant attempt at taking the title from Big Damo in one of the standout matches of 2015. After that he recieved a glowing endorsement from his main foe in ICW, former ICW Champion Mikey Whiplash at Shug’s House Party 3, and he has since earned the opportunity he was clearly due. He hasn’t backed down from the big bad Wolf in the slightest either. In fact, he’s got the better of Wolfgang much of the time they’ve come face to face, but none of those occasions occurred inside a steel cage. None of those occasions had Wolfgang’s World Heavyweight Title on the line.

Wolfgang was already an intimidating man before he embarked on his current prolific run of knocking people out with an iron fist, but his track record in steel cage matches makes this all the more a dangerous prospect for Trent. This is a man who literally hung his own cousin from the top of a cage and he was still a good guy who came out to Hungry Like The Wolf at that time. This version of Wolfgang inside the same structure facing an opponent who isn’t a relative? A dream match for Trent could become a nightmare very quickly. Its easy to get caught up in Trent’s story and root for a guy who went out and risked everything in each and every match he had to earn the right to be in the main event at The Hydro, but don’t let the scowl he aims at the crowd every time he comes out to detract from Wolfgang’s own story. Glasgow born and bred and with ICW from day one, he steps out at the main event of perhaps the biggest show in European wrestling history as the the ICW World Heavyweight Champion. In Wolfgang’s eyes this is his fairytale, and if it has to end with him ripping Trent’s beautiful beard off his chin, that’s just how it’ll have to be.

Trent had to contend with his fair share of knock backs on the road to The Hydro, which must make the position he finds himself in all the sweeter. Co-owner Red Lightning seeming content to allow Trent to steal the show night after night for the company without reward, he was given no choice but to bow to immense pressure to give Trent his title opportunity. Red has made considerable efforts to make life as comfortable as possible for his champions. Recognising the threat Trent Seven poses to The Black Label’s monopoly on the richest prize in ICW, Red made every effort to keep his champion away from the man who inflicted a rare pinfall defeat on Wolfgang at the June 19th Fight Club taping. It was only when he had little choice in the matter that he gave in to the demands of the considerable following Trent has built in his short time in ICW; As Trent had Wolfgang tied in the ropes with vicious intent, Red decided to save his champion from any fatal damage and granted Trent his match.

A year on from perhaps the lowest point in The Black Label’s short history, when Grado took the title from Drew Galloway in front of 4,000 strong at the SECC, Red Lightning once again sees his champion in a much more dangerous match than he’d have wanted to if he had his own way. While Trent doesn’t have a Mick Foley on his side to provide timely back-up if Red does try to get directly involved, he does have a crowd that will be overwhelmingly on his side and plenty of allies in the locker room who wan’t to see the ICW Title wrestled out of The Black Labels deathgrip once again. Wolfgang will have his work cut out for him on a night where The Black Label will understandably have eyes elsewhere with the Team Dallas vs Team Black Label match looming large. The outcome of that perhaps having a huge part to play on just how many allies Wolfgang himself can count on if things start to go a bit Pete Tong.

While having a bit of insurance behind him would be a valuable thing for the champion, there’s no doubt ideally Wolfgang would love to derail the Trent Seven bandwagon all on his own and he’s certainly capable of doing so. A performer who has a reputation for rising to the big occasions, there will be no bigger occasion than this in Wolfgang’s career. Even if ICW continue to grow and end up running bigger shows, in front of bigger crowds, he will always be the man who walked out for the main event as champion on the show where the company cemented its place at wrestling’s top table. A special moment for an iconic figure in the company. The biggest obstacle standing in his path is simply a guy who is seemingly indestructible. Having somehow survived numerous wars with Mikey Whiplash, the bear shaped torpedo known as Damo who had to do everything short of kill Trent just to pin him, and everything in between. Wolfgang probably has too much for 99.999% of wrestlers to withstand inside a steel cage but Trent might just be the guy who can take everything he has to throw at him, and return it in kind. Not content to follow the crowd and wait behind everyone else for a shot, Trent Seven has provided so many shock and awe moments since his debut. The biggest of them all could come at about half 10 on Sunday night when he holds that title aloft in front of the biggest crowd in ICWs history.

When Joe Coffey finally peeled himself off the canvas, broken and battered, after Wolfgang mugged him at the end of Shugs House Party 3, you could have forgiven him for walking away from all this. Sickened after seeing a 2 year long struggle finally bear that golden fruit he was waiting for, it was all gone in an instant. He fought bravely when Wolfgang cashed in his Square Go briefcase to snatch the title from Joe’s grasp before he’d even had the chance to kid on it was a guitar, or thrust it aggressively towards a camera. The Square Go briefcast itself was another prize he snatched from Joes clutches as the Iron Man entered the match first and made it all the way to the end before being toppled by a freshened Wolfgang. The grim reaper of Joes hopes and dreams extinguished his title reign before its light had even been seen. After spending 20 minutes wrestling the championship off a bear in Big Damo, what hope did he have of fighting off a wolf with the scent of blood and a title he himself has had his sights set on for many years planted firmly in his nostrils? Even at that, Wolfgang benefited from a helping hand from the all seeing eye that is Red Lightning. Perhaps the true grim reaper of Joe’s hopes in dreams, as the two have been entrenched in a bitter rivalry that stretches back to the days ICW could only have dreamed of running The Hydro. Partly because it didnae exist.

As the old saying goes, when one door closes, an Olympic gold medallist looking for a square go walks through another one. Perhaps Joe would have downed tools if it wasn’t for the biggest match of his career being on the horizon, but his victory over Damo not only ensured him the right to call himself ICW Champion, it also earned him a pop at Angle at The Hydro. A dream match not only because of the track record his opponent has and the weight his name carries, but a dream match in terms of the style both men employ. A match made in heaven on paper, and a match that could easily be all handshakes and smiles if Joe Coffey allowed it to be. No doubt Kurt Angle would love to come to ICW, have a nice and easy night and walk away with a tidy profit in his back pocket, but Joe Coffey is sick of it. As he said the last time he took to the mic in an ICW ring, he’s not here to play second fiddle anymore. Not in a company he’s had to scratch and claw to earn every single opportunity chucked his way. No way. Not on the biggest night in its history. This isn’t their night. This isn’t a show marketed as “Big name Americans + the guys we rely on every other show” this is the biggest night in Scottish Wrestling history. They are invited guests to our own very own wrestling festival, and if Kurt Angle, Ricochet, The Dudleyz or anyone else lucky enough to be handed a golden ticket think its going to be an easy night, they’re in for a rude awakening. In fact they’re in for a bit more than that. They’re in for a good old fashioned doing.

Joe has prepared for Angle by insisting he was only interested in “money fights” in the wake of his ICW World Heavyweight Title defeat, knowing fine well his path back to the title he fought so hard for would be an almost impossible one. He certainly got “money fights” in his two encounters with Matt Cross. As the living breathing create-a-wrestler from Lucha Underground took Joe to his limits in Glasgow, before he evened the score in their second encounter at ICW:Scotchtoberfest in London. The deciding frame of that nailbiter will have to stay on the backburner for now, the simple matter of throwing an Olympic Gold medalist and former WWE and TNA Champion over his head understandably at the forefront of Coffey’s mind, but when they do have their decider it will no doubt be another display of why Joe Coffey is one of the most consistent performers in Europe today. The match with a legend such as Angle coming at seemingly the perfect time for Joe, having made his debut in the USA not long ago and impressive over there. A good showing against Angle could propel him to even greater heights.

The issue with that is that Joe Coffey doesn’t seem interested in settling for just a good showing. Why shoot for that when its something he could achieve in a Diazepam induced sleep, stringing together German Suplexes in a daze while dreaming about doing other German Suplexes to someone else. Or maybe an elephant. Point is, Joe Coffey isn’t interested in the handshake. The pat on the back. The patronising “well done kid, your time will come!” speech. In his own words, Joe Coffey is coming to The Hydro for the win, and unless Angle is planning on bringing the motivated, hungry for success version of himself that has managed to conquer any challenge laid out in front of him, its fair to say he just might not have the edge required to overcome a motivated, almost bloodthirsty Iron Man. Then again, is it ever fair to count out one of the best of all-time? That’s the calibre of opponent Joe is up against here, and no matter what end of his career Kurt Angle is currently at, he’s still Kurt Angle. He’s one of the few performing on the night who’ll step into that red hot Hydro atmosphere well used to having thousands upon thousands of eyes on him and having the owners of those eyes going home talking about how he stole the show. No doubt that this encounter has all the tools to do just that on a night where the world will be watching.

ICW have been on tour in the lead up to its biggest show yet at the Hydro. Biggest show anywhere ever in fact. Know how WWE broke the attendance record for Mania last year by shutting the roof of the stadium and having a fitba tournament on top of it? ICW are having a whole other wrestling show on top of the Hydro, so fuck yees. Whilst its slightly humorous that they started “The Road To The Hydro” already quite close to The Hydro, before deliberately going quite far away from it and working their back, there’s too much wrestling stuff to be writing about to get carried away with such trivial nonsense. Pure nae idea how I’m going to do this, but that’s the fun bit. Here’s some words about some tour shows.

Girvan prepares for Ricochet by having his heart torn out of his body. Watching on as Lionheart points and laughs at it

Sheffield saw the beginnings of a new chapter in the feud between Lionheart and Lewis Girvan. Girvan’s quest for that Zero-G seems neverending and included a brief spell of him wearing the old belt, insisting it was the “Catchweight” belt even though it had a massive G right in the middle of it. Defending it once and continuing to wear it as some sort of tribute to that one defence (an undeniably excellent match against Mikey Whiplash) before it was eventually taken away for eh….some reason, I’m no a historian awrite, point is he no longer has it, and he wouldn’t be wearing the real belt at the end of this one either as Hearto insisted it was non-title. Being the smart cookie he is Lewis Girvan had a proposal. If he wins their non-title encounter, one more shot at that shiny belt the following night in Southampton. Hearto wins? He gets to give Girvan wedgies every day for a year. No just any day they’re on a wrestling show together, I’m talking Lionheart moves in just to make sure the daily wedgie is always delivered. However, in the midst of another excellent match between the two, Girvan reversed a Styles Clash attempt into a pin and that was that. Lionheart had been pinned for the first time since Donald Trump was just a regular run of the mill sex offender instead of one who RUNS THE FUCKIN WORLD. The next night in Southampton was weirdly cruel on Lewis Girvan. Even though he benefitted from a quick count to have his hand raised, he still heard the words “and NEW ICW Champion…LEWISSSSS GIRVANNNNN” and really, no matter the circumstances, if you disappear behing the curtain with a belt round your waist having heard such words, that’s you champion. Update the twitter bio, dae a big massive FB status about it, put a right good filter on the Instagram photo of yer brand new prized possession. The works.

Lionheart came out later in the night and with the help of Drew, managed to get Thomas Kearins to correctly reverse his decision. Well technically he should have restarted the match instead of reversing it but who has time for other matches mate. There’s a whole tour to be getting through here. Lionheart’s still the champion and one thing this whole drama ensured is that when Lewis Girvan does eventually take the belt properly, it’ll get an ear shattering reaction from the crowd. He seems to be putting it all together brilliantly lately and has more crowd support than ever.
He blew aff a bit of steam in Bristol the next night after his singles match with Ravie Davie turned into Girvan and Ravie teaming up against The Purge. Whit happened to the other Purge guy btw? Is he still involved or is that him oot the picture entirely? Either way, Girvan seemed to have a smashin time teaming with Ravie Davie. Imagine the sour faced Lewis Girvan that kept smashing folk in the baws at the Square Go was asked to team with Ravie Davie 6 months ago? he’d have dipped his thumbs in salt and shoved them in yer eyes. This Lewis Girvan had an absolute laugh riot and got his team the win with a mad elevated DDT on Stevie James.

Ladies who triple threat (a lot)

As the Women’s Title match at The Hydro is a triple threat, the early part of the tour was triple threat daft. Three way dancin ye oot yer pants. Kay Lee Ray, Viper and Kimber Lee engaged in a serious wrestle in Sheffield. Nae offence to our Viper or the impressive Kimber Lee. Fair play to the pair of ye there. But Kay Lee Ray has undoubtedly been one of the shining lights of Scottish Wrestling for years, representing both home and away, and if I’d tae pick a winner for the triple threat match at The Hydro it has to be her, so to see her win this and gather a bit of momentum was some buzz. A buzz totally in no way influenced by a desire to hear her and Stevie’s music as much as possible. Get a mad “she deserves it” chant on the go. Right now. I know this is words on a page but if everyone reading this does it at the same time, the noise will spread. Honestly. Do it the now. Haud on….are you actually daein it?Viper and Kimber Lee were both in triple threat action again in Southampton the next night, this time with Pollyanna as the third competitor. The thing I like the most about the tour shows is getting to see folk wrestle I hear a lot about but never get round to seeing. There was a few instances of that in these shows, and we’ll talk about the most impressive one later, but Pollyanna was also fuckin excellent on first viewing. On the surface she’s a smiley probable maths teacher, but underneath shes a homicidal double stomping maniac. A murderer in sheeps clothing as the saying goes. Viper prevailed thanks to a move she calls Snakebite, but Kimber Lee and Pollyanna both impressed in what was a tidy wee bit of triple threatting.
So with a win each, Viper and Kay Lee faced off in Bristol to settle the score. Basically next goal’s the winner in wrestling ring, or it would have been if Kay Lee Ray didnae forgo the match entirely to knock fuck out of Viper’s leg. I’m sure Kay Lee Ray is a nice person n that, but as much as I enjoyed her as a goodie in ICW, there’s something so much more emphatic and almost authentic about her being a low down dirty bad yin who takes great pleasure in spitting on your dreams. She left Viper wae a sare leg, and a sare heart, wondering if her Hydro dream was fucked.

Davey and Joe

Jack Jester has annoyingly become one of my favourite things in ICW. Well maybe that’s pushing it a wee bit, but see before? Never really bought into what he was about. Nae disrespect or that, but it wasn’t for me, because the good but also really violent guy act never made sense to me. He’s a baddie. One of the best one’s we have, and when you put him in a position where he can be a right bad bastard he excels. A right sarcastic dildo wielding bastard so he is. Joe Hendry was his opponent on this night and Jester scooped up the win thanks to Davey Blaze blasting Joe in the baws. They’re feuding don’t you know. It’s actually one of the main reasons they’re always shouting at each other in The Garage. They’re no just one of they couples who likes to go out together so they’ve got an audience to fight in front of, they’re performers who fight in front of a paying audience. Entirely different thing so it isnae. Davey himself lost to BT Gunn later in the night. Finish was a bit odd, as the ref had his leg pulled but counted the three anyway. Joe Hendry came out and really fuckin went in on Davey on the mic. Calling him an embarrassment and even saying he sniffs wee dugs bums and keeps a diary on the subtle nuances between the different smells contained within said bums. Joe proposed that if Davey wins their Hydro match he goes away for a year, but if Joe wins it he gets 5 minutes in wee mans ring. Or words to that effect. Either way it’s probably going to be unpleasant for the wee man. Even if Joe lights a few candles for the occasion.

Matters concerning Christopher Renfrew esq and Sir Trent of Seven

Chris Renfrew vs Trent Seven was a former ICW Champion vs a future ICW Champion. Even if its not at The Hydro, it’s happening for Trent. He does mad spinny piledrivers ffs. Fire that on top of how much of a beautiful human he is in general and you’ve got an ICW Champion in the making. This match was about as much violent fun as you’d expect. They went outside for a bit and went twos on a snout before returning to the ring to chuck tridents at each other before Trent took the win with one of a mad spinny piledriver I’m reliably informed (aka I made it up) he calls “The Pete Burns”.
Renfrew followed that scrap up with an even scrappier one in Southampton the night after. Taking on the debuting Clint Margera in a proper slice of hardcore. Margera is basically a less folically challenged, more English version of Renfrew and they knocked fuck out each other in between bouts of screaming “THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!” at each other. Renfrew killed Margera with the T-Virus on to hunners of tacks, before taking to the mic to welcome to him to ICW. I’m not sure if dead bodies can hear and comprehend words you say to them, but if they can I’m sure Margera will be hugely appreciative of Renfrew’s words.Trent faced DCT in Southampton, in a classic battle between two guys who its completely impossible to dislike. If we were aw mad virgins, we’d have been chanting “both these guys!” throughout this encounter, following it up with a nice “this is awesome!” rounded off by chanting “graps!” repeatedly until our brains all implode at once. It was a lovely encounter between two lovely men. One who had his tash cruelly snatched off his beautiful coupon and another who’s built an empire on his own tash, which happens to be coupled with a beard ye just want to jump inside and bathe in. Once again the spinny piledriver got the job done but see aside from dropping him on his head with great force for the finish, this match was all about the mutual respect. An exceedingly sexy, respectful time.

Renfrew rounded off his own personal trio of scraps with an almost therapeutic match against Sha Samuels. There’s tension on Team ICW. Grado and Renfrew can’t get along, Sha is pretty much Grado’s best pal, so he’s obviously going to take exception to that and what better way is there to air out yer grievances with yer fellow-man and soon to be team-mate by smacking the taste clean out his gub. Bristol didnae get the memo that Sha’s a good guy in ICW now, because they called him a cockney wanker throughout and strongly favoured a Glaswegian over a fellow Englishman. Dunno why it continues to shock me that Sha gets nae love down south. One key difference to the scene down there and the one in Scotland, if yer a proper baddie you get the reaction a proper baddie should get in most cases. Wheras if yer Scottish and you wrestle in Scotland ,it disnae really matter what you do. You could pull yer skants down and literally pish on the audience while phoning each and every one of their maw’s to call them mad hoors and you’d still get a wee pocket of folk cheering for ye. We’re either twisted or a wee bit stupit. Renfrew won with the stoner before Sha dropped some wise words about them needing to come together for one night only, and offered his hand to Renfrew. A hand he definitely considered taking. At least for a second, but he vanished behind the curtain with nae issues having been resolved, leaving Sha to tell the whole of Bristol how much he fuckin hates them.

The ballad of Drew “no the night” Galloway, as he tells the wee toons “fuck you”

Drew Galloway patched wrestling DCT in favour of coming out in jeans and a hoodie and leathering him alongside Jester. I take back the nice shit I said about Jester btw, because this theme of him battering DCT every now and then is not one I enjoy. Leave him the fuck alane. You anaw Bram. The whole lot of yees fuckin back aff. In Southampton it was Sha Samuels getting the treatment, as Lionheart sneak attacked the big man as he waited for Drew. The gruesome twosome then moved on to the whole sorting out the Lionheart Zero-G Title mess and threatened referee Thomas Kearins while Sha continued to sell the beating he just took. So basically Sha had a wee sleep in the ring while Drew screamed at Thomas Kearins and he was upside down read to take a Styles Clash. I hope he dreamt of smashin mugs. Aw the mugs. Coffee mugs, tea mugs, Aberdonians. Any kind of mug ye could think of. Really enjoying what they’re doing with Drew’s injury but. Keeping us intrigued. Everyone knows Drew is legit injured but him coming out and giving it all the bravado is adding an extra element to the storyline. Really hope when the day arrives that Drew is able to lace them up cause no matter what you think of him, him coming back to ICW was a huge shot in the arm for a company already on the rise and his ICW Title reign had a big hand in establishing the company in other countries so he deserves to wrestle on the biggest show in European history. Fuckin least the cunt deserves.
In Bristol Drew was supposed to wrestle Joe Hendry but once again came out in his civvys, team handed, before things took a bit of an interesting turn of events when Dallas challenged him right there and then to prove he was fit for the Hydro by fighting HIM. A bold move, even if yer 99.99999% sure a cunt has a burst neck, when that cunt is 6’4-6’5, and built like a tank, a proposal of fisticuffs is never a good idea. Lionheart persuaded Drew to leave it, before Dallas informed him he was still on the payroll and he’d need to fight DCT or that shiny belt would be whipped clean aff him. DCT looked on the verge of a big win before Lionheart flipped out of the “Tashmission” into a pin with a wee assist from the ropes. Bet Hearto wins his match at The Hydro clean as a whistle just to annoy folk even more. The 2016 Lionheart vindication tour keeps on making towns and taking names. Who’s next.

Joe collects another couple of skulls for the mantelpiece

Joe Coffey skipped the Sheffield show for the small matter of wrestling Cody Rhodes in from of 1,000+ people in Paisley, but returned for the Southampton show to batter fuck out of Josh Bodom. To be quite honest I’d have enjoyed giving this aw sorts of shit cause I’m no a big lover of Mr Bodom, but it was irritatingly great. They proper smacked each other for ages, really hard, in the face and throughout the upper body. As unpalatable as I find Bodom on a human level is annoyingly difficult to deny he’s a talented boay and really brought the best out in Joe. Joe won because he’s a main made of Iron and that’s generally enough to beat guys who say “bro” a lot without a hint of irony.
Joe’s opponent in Bristol was big Iestyn Rees. Rees has been a fixture in Pro Wrestling Elite for around 2 years now and up until he wrestled Joe, I’m no feart to admit I really didn’t get it. He was clearly a physical specimen who had all the tools, but he wasn’t my cup of tea. It was his title defence against Joe that turned it round and I’ve been more and more impressed with the big man since. This match was undoubtedly his best in ICW and the momentum and confidence he’s gathered since aligning himself with Bird and Boar seems to be leading to good things. Joe scudded his nut clean aff his shoulders with a Discus Lariat for the win right enough, so things aren’t that good for the big yin yet, but he’s a sneaky wee outsider in the Stairway To Heaven match at The Hydro. No one’s talking about him winning it, which sounds like the perfect scenario for him to sneak in and do the business. Zack Ryder style. While everycunt’s looking elsewhere.
Joe Coffey is carrying a horrendously sare looking leg injury into The Hydro and he’s still turning in stoaters every single show. Kurt Angle better not even think about phoning this one in, because if he does, he’ll need an extra seat on the plane hame for his heid after Joe knocks it aff.

Polo Promotions march on

First stop on the road to chuckin a couple of specky old timers about The Hydro for Polo Promotions was an excellent encounter with The New Nation in Sheffield. I mind seeing The New Nation in the tag tournament to crown new champions after Polo Promotions left and thinking they’d be top drawer opponents for the Polo’s themselves. Thank fuck the boaysies are back doing their thing. Greet and moan about them leaving aw ye want, but why pre-occupy yourself with such silliness when you could just be fuckin happy two of the very best are dominating the tag division once again. Its heavy good that the likes of The New Nation and Bird n Boar got a foot in the door thanks to the tag tournament, but the division felt like a ship without a captain without the rightful champs. The REEEEEEAL champs. Next night in Southampton they had another cracker with Travis Banks and Chris Brookes, and solidified their position as the single greatest tag team in Europe. Certainly the best tag team to ever put the stupit Dudleyz through numerous tables at The Hydro on November 20th. Out with the very old, in with the Scotland’s BEEEEEEEST tag team.
They rounded off the tour of multi cultural doings with another stellar affair against Bird and Boar. The New Nation are gid and both right big bruisers, but of the teams who emerged from that tourny, Bird and Boar are my favourites for sure. Both cracking at the auld grappling, but quirky into the bargain. Lit are they really a Bird and a Boar? Is this human form we see them in simply an optical illusion or just some really flashy gear that turns animals into mental looking humans? So many unanswered questions. This one was the pick of the three matches for me, but it had one vital thing in common with the other two and that was yer Polo’s scooping up the win via Old Man Of Hoy (which is an assisted German Suplex, no a run in by a sea stack)

Wolfy the main event player

Wolfgang finally realised his dreams when he took the ICW Title from Joe Coffey, but ever since the big man had his hand raised that night he’s been in an awfy bad mood it seems. Shouting at folk. Looking real mean. Knocking you, yer da, and aw yer mad uncles out with brass knuckles. Maybe that belt is a gift and a curse. With great power comes a great amount of brass colliding with a great amount of temples. Sha Samuels was the latest man to fall, before The Black Label wrapped him up in the ropes and set about him, only for an almighty rammy to ensue that somehow left Trent Seven in the ring, giving Wolfie all sorts of snash about how he was taking that belt aff him. For every sour face Wolfie pulls at someone, Trent is somewhere in the world rubbing beards and spreading happiness so in many ways this is the perfect feud.Wolfgang followed that up with another brass plated win over Joe Hendry in Southampton the night after. Sneaking to the outside after taking Hendry’s fallaway slam only to knock him clean out as he dwelled on the outside. Trent once again ended the night with a mic on his hand well on top as he seemed to gain the upper hand on Wolfie on the first leg of the tour. Its hard not to love Trent, but there’s almost a wee air of cockiness about his words when he’s stepping in there with a legit ICW legend, and a man undefeated in cage matches. A man who fought with everything he has to get that belt, even if the actual title win wasn’t covered in glory, he still earned the right to call himself an ICW Champion. The big man roved beyond any reasonable doubt that no amount of brass knuckles to the temple finishes diminishes the quality he has in that ring, as he proved in Bristol the night after when he was one half of one of the best ICW matches I’ve maybe ever seen.
It was almost a feeling of nostalgia as Charlie Garrett jumped about the Marble Factory in Bristol like a man possessed. It reminded me of my second ICW show, late 2012, Wolfgang set to take on a guy I’d heard plenty about but hadn’t seen a lot of. That man was called Fergal Devitt and has gone on to do some decent stuff. You could call him noteworthy I guess, but that match changed the way I seen Pro Wrestling as an adult and really opened my eyes to the fact that it had something to keep me interested and even if the mainstream shit wasn’t floating my boat personally, SOMETHING was. Charlie Garrett’s display on his ICW debut was in a similar bracket to that. Not since seeing Uhaa Nation perform for the first time a couple of years back have I personally had that “Oh my fucking god, who the fuck is this magnificent bastard?” feeling as I had when I watched this match. Charlie Garrett is the fuckin baws and goes from 0 to moonsault in about half a second. Raw power moves to corkscrew sentons in a fuckin flash. A terrific debut from a guy I look forward to seeing a lot more from. Even looked like Wolfgang was about to shake his hand at the end despite knocking him clean out with the brass knuckles for the win. The video cut off before we got to see if he did indeed get that handshake, but in my head they shook hands, mutual respected oot their nuts. Keep an eye on Charlie Garrett but. A unique talent. Last time someone debuted in ICW anywhere near as impressively as that, he went on to main event The Hydro with the very man Garrett faced in Bristol, so who knows what lies in his ICW future, but based on that showing, there certainly will be an ICW future for him.

Damian Dunne and Dan Moloney also had a match in Southampton and it was very good but not linked to anything storyline wise so couldn’t put it anywhere else bar this awkward wee end bit. Well done to them both. Very solid wrestling stuff.

Thank you to David J.Wilson for the photos which aren’t linked to the shows mentioned at all but I couldnae find any photos from they shows and shit is a lot easier on the eyes with a few photos so there we are. The photos used are from recent Garage shows and have some relevance to the words so…aye. David J.Wilson is god.

Everywhere I see British Wrestling being championed, its always the same thing. A small group of hugely talented (mostly English, not that there’s anything wrong with that..be who you are, stay tru to u) wrestlers who have made an impression all over the map being spoken about. Guys who have a foot in the door with the likes of NJPW, PWG, Evolve, ROH etc. Japan + big indies basically. That seems to be the formula to have everyone chattering about ye and that’s sound, but while everyone’s wondering when Mary Scurll’s gonnae end up on NXT, or when Will Ospreay’s next attempt to break the world record for flips is happening, sometimes shit maybe slips through the cracks. Outstanding wrestling stuff that’s out there, but maybe isn’t being championed enough. Outstanding shit that exists on the biggest card in European Wrestling’s recent history, just sitting in the background whilst the foreground screams “LOOK AT ME”. Plotting. Menacingly plotting. Ready to steal the show.

When BT Gunn vs Stevie Boy was first announced it didn’t even have any kind of intriguing stipulation, but it still felt huge that they had a one on one match on such a big stage. Their mutual hatred feels tangible, to the point that it almost forms a cloud and hangs over their heads, controlling them with puppet strings to carry out these unspeakable deeds on each other. They wanted each other dead and were willing to throw all sorts of mad kicks and the odd Canadian Destroyer at each other to get that job done. There was chants. A solemn proclamation from Renfrew…Stevie’s gonnae die, gonnae die, STEEEEEEEEEEEVIE’S gonnae die. There was a funeral. The death of the NAK was celebrated by a gleeful Stevie. Admitting murder in front of numerous witnesses because he just could not contain his excitement for another second. His excitement was short lived, the NAK aren’t dead despite the monster they created claiming it so. The mad Reverend was premature but the fact that these two mad bastards step in to a situation where one of them HAS to die for it to end makes this whole thing a lot more cut and dried. There’s no dread anymore. There’s no wondering when the death of one of your favourite wrestlers is coming, we now know it happens November 20th, 2016. The Hydro. BT Gunn vs Stevie Boy. Casket match.

This is the first match of its kind in ICW and that gives it even more significance because as heated and as real as their rivalry feels, the match will be a bit of a creative blank canvas for them when it comes to crafting the match itself. A couple of right good pals cooking up a beautiful story to tell in front of the biggest crowd of their storied history. In ICW’s storied history. In the storied history of Scottish Wrestling for fuck sake (am I saying storied history too much here? this is the most anyone’s said storied history in its storied history) its a shame they can’t be good pals after the fact. Its even a shame they can’t continue to knock fuck out each other after this one is done and dusted but a casket match is a casket match. The rules are the rules. When Yokozuna and hauf the locker room loaded The Undertaker into that casket at the 94 Royal Rumble he actually died. They only started calling him the dead man after that. He was actually called The Overtaker before it and his gimmick was being hopelessly addicted to gambling, so there can be only one. After this there won’t be any more show stealing battles. No one night only reformation of the NAK as the mighty squadron of mad bastards it once was. Only the victor, and his spoils, the rotting corpse of his enemy.

Folk wondered why the NAK split happened earlier in the year, and admittedly I was one of them. As a 5 person unit it felt like it had more legs, but wrestling is a neverending story, and the least it requires from those who follow it is a wee bit of patience. Wait and see how it plays out before writing something off. For me, the NAK split was designed to facilitate so many things on The Hydro card. It chucks 5 vital roster members who would maybe have been confined to the one storyline and scatters them all over the card, but Stevie and BT can’t separate. They never could. Blood brothers who won’t stop until the last drop of blood drains from at least one of them. You wouldn’t even be shocked if there’s no winner. They batter lumps out each other in new and inventive ways for a solid half hour, it ends as they both stand by the open casket, knocking the living fuck out each other, before they both pull a machete from each other’s back pocket and simultaneously decapitate one and other, gently falling in the casket at the same time to bleed out together. True blood brothers until the bitter end.

You might walk into The Hydro excited for Joe Coffey and Kurt Angle to put on a mad suplex clinic and that’s great. I’m excited for that too, and it absolutely has all the tools to steal the show itself. You might walk buzzin out yer chebs to see Trent Seven and the army try to prize the belt off the big bad Wolf in a steel cage, and that’s great, I’m buzzin as fuck to see that unfold as well. Maybe you’re even champing at the bit to see if sworn enemies Chris Renfrew and Grado can co-exist and help Mark Dallas take ICW back, or if Drew Galloways neck has healed enough for him to tip it in The Black Label’s favour and that’s awrite as well, if that’s your jam, throw it on and boogie ’til yer heart’s content. Whatever on the card you stoat in to that building most excited about will hopefully live up to its billing, but the match you’ll stoat out of the building thinking about will be The Oddity vs The Devils Spawn. The Student vs The Teacher. NAK till death vs NAK till I kill the cunts. BT Gunn vs Stevie Boy.

RAW and Smackdown are two of the longest running episodic television shows in the history of long running episodic television shows. The difference between these shows and every other TV show is that they have no shelf life. No expiration date. No real competition for its share of the market at all, so these shows will never stop. Seriously. When you’ve been dead 300 years and the planet is occupied by floating virtual reality pods occupied by clinically dead “humans” who have been purposefully frozen with full brain activity to ensure eternal life, RAW and Smackdown will still be on TV. Wrestlers will still be wrestling. There will still be some kind of storyline involving authority figures and employees having friction with them, and the virtual reality pod people will just need to fucking deal with it like we had to. So to suggest Glasgow will be the scene of their most entertaining, action packed shows to date is some outlandish shit. That’s what known as a tangent, and the following will be the single greatest list article you’ve never read.

1. Glasgow crowds are super LIVE

This is an exclusive photo taken from an obscure Glasgow live event and I mean just look at these folks. With the flags and the patriotic passion ripping out them. Many of them are mid song, gesticulating wildly over something. It’s the kind of crowd entertainers long to entertain in front of, so when Bo Dallas stoats out at The Hydro with the exact same “I’m really happy! but with a sinister side!” gimmick he’s been rehashing for about 4 years, this crowd will give it exactly the reaction is deserves. By going to one of The Hydro’s many classy eateries and bars for refreshments, returning just in time to see Cutis Axel soaking in the adulation of the crowd after beating poor Bo down. What you get with a Glasgow crowd is something you simply don’t get anywhere else, and that’s a chant “Here We! Here We! Here We Fucking Go!” being shoehorned in no matter what event is being held in the great city. Even Songs of Praise LIVE! where many a boozed up nun has been caught chucking her knickers at the stage because for one night only they decided to put the “fun” in “look at that fun nun”.

2. The crowd will get behind their own. Even if they’re from Ayrshire.

Noam mate. Its too real for me. Every week I sit there in front of the stupid idiot box. Watching, waiting, wishing. Where art thou Noam? Did WWE sign you to ensure I tune in to RAW every week to see if you’ve finally graced us all with your presence. As a nation, we yearn for Noam. He was taken from us too soon, and if he doesn’t make his debut on at RAW in Glasgow, it is with no exaggeration that I say I will personally rip the roof off The Hydro and chuck it into The Clyde like a giant frisbee. If he does debut? Be prepared for the roof to come off a different way, because even though he’s from Ayrshire which is renowned for being full of mad roasters, we accept Noam as one of our own. I jest, Ayrshire’s lovely and it would be just perfect if Noam debuts in front of a “Home” crowd. Watch as WWE shite all over our dreams and give us Tony Nese vs Lince El Dorado instead.

3. If this goes well, we might get one a year, so the crowd will bring their A game.

We all know what this means. If the crowd are on their game and the shows go well, we’ll get a live show every year. I love the local scene more than anything, but to me the fact that the big boys might be running proper significant shows in our stomping ground is something huge and will only increase interest in local promotions. Because when WWE go away, folk still want live wrestling. They’ll go to that thing with Grado and Big Drew. They’ll see an outstanding show. They’ll see more. They’ll see themselves spending A LOT more time in The Garage nightclub than they ever imagined. They’ll get into their auld man’s tramadol stash and see wee bunnies jumping in to honey pots. Wait….one of them might not be related to the point I was making, but listen. The crowd will bring it because they know they have to bring it.

4. Becky Lynch defends the Smackdown Womens Title

Cards on the table here, running out of ideas that won’t be complete daftness so might as well write about a genuine wrestling thing that will happen. Becky Lynch couldn’t defend her Womens Title at the last Smackdown PPV because of injury so her match with Alexa Bliss happens here. Its one of those title matches on a weekly show they advertise beforehand which would indicate Alexa Bliss might have a shot at winning it off “Becky Balboa”. Love Becky and all that, love her to bits, but her patter’s shockin’ and maybe a wee loss followed by a patter tutorial from Glasgow’s finest merchants after the match could turn her patter career around.

5. The Hydro does a smashin sausage supper

This is a lie. I’ve lied to you here. When me and a few friends last visited The Hydro we’d all skipper dinner so when our collective tummies started making the grumblies, off we went seeking nourishment. What we found was a chippy type thing serving up the most horrendous Sausage Suppers you’ll ever eat in your life. I still taste this fucking thing every time I burp, so if you’re searching for a point in this article, this is it right here. If you go to these shows, live, love, laugh, take eccies, enjoy, but don’t eat the Sausage Suppers.

6. Braun Strowman will be squashing

That mean’s you could be next. If you’re under 200 pounds and have a startling inability to grow any significant facial hair, you could be the next “local enhancement talent” used to make Braun Strowman seem like something more than just a massive guy who’s finishing move makes no sense. A reverse chokeslam where you grip the back of the opponents neck isn’t “choking” and therefore is not a chokeslam but that’s fine mate. He’s 6 foot 10, 569 pounds of beard, and quite frankly he can call his finisher whatever the fuck he wants. Cannot wait to see who he squashes in Glasgow. I’m hoping it isn’t 1-3 wrestlers, and instead its 15 junkies tied together to make one big mega junkie.

7. NOAM EFFIN DAR MATE

Falling back into our lives as if Drew Galloway just kicked him off a ledge, and falling on to this list for a second time because I’m running out of things to list, Noam Dar MUST make his first RAW appearance on Monday or I’m never watching it again. For a full week, I will abstain from watching new episodes of Monday Night RAW. That’s how much I personally love Noam Dar, and tbh that’s how much all of you should also love him. GET HIM ON MA TELE.

8. The Hydro is a beautiful big bowl. Made for wrestling. Not a bad seat in the house.

Don’t even work there mate, just saying. Of all the live venues in Glasgow that could hold a pro wrestling show, this is the guy. Having attended no less than 3 wrestling shows there all from very different areas of the building, I can assure you all, there is not a bad seat in the house. I got there 20 hours early just so I could try each and every seat out to make sure and there wasn’t one where I felt I wouldn’t be bathing in the slick wrestling action. No obstructed views, no seats that seem deliberately designed to cause chronic neck pain. None of that. If you love wrestling, you’ll love The Hydro, and should continue to love it just a week after these shows when ICW run a show there on November 20th.

9. THE KEVIN OWENS SHOW – GLASGOW STYLE

Think about something for a wee second. Chris Jericho has been at his very best lately. Better than he has been in over 10 years. A legend who was maybe seen as someone a bit stale who only existed to lose to up and coming talent, suddenly feels like the megastar he is again. What’s changed? What’s different about this run to all the wee recent “Fozzy are doing fuck all for the next 3 months, so I might as well” runs? Kevin Owens is different. Kevin Owens is the focal point RAW needed and the focal point that also allows RAW to give the spotlight to other deserving talents at the same time. It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to force us to like THEIR guy, instead they’re just letting an extremely talented guy do his thing and he will do that thing in Glasgow, still champion, still running the show, still NOT on the list because he’s such a loyal and good best friend.

Krieger throwing up gang signs moments after being given detention for wearing a singlet to school

When I first gave big Krieger a shout about doing an interview, he was not one half of the PBW Tag Team Champions. In between me asking and eventually sending him questions, he had somehow become one half of the PBW Tag Team Champions and that got me thinking. What if this is a trend? What if this is the winter of gold for Krieger’s young and old, and if I wait it out just a wee bit longer, he’ll be WWE Champion by the time I send the questions. Ever since I pulled the trigger and actually got this done, Krieger has won The TNA X-Division Title, The GFW Grand Atlantic 12 Gold Bars for £11.99 Title, The Nobel Peace Prize, The Formula One Drivers Championship, The ICW Zero-G Title, The WWE Smackdown Womens Title and The Johnny Thighslaps Award For Excellence In Wrestling Realism, so he’s on pace to have won every award available to the human race by the end of 2016. A number of postal votes for the US Presidential Election are said to have Trump and Clinton crossed out and “Big Krieger fae the wresslin!” scribbled in their place, but we pride ourselves on getting these interviews BEFORE the big break happens so we can be all smug lit that “See him? Knew about him before knowing about hings wis even a hing m8!”

So the questions were sent, and the big charismatic baw booter provided answers. Probably while he was covering Kevin Owens to become only the third ever WWE Universal Champion.

So new PBW tag champs eh? Ye think yer a big shot now do ye? Nah seriously though, how did it feel to take the titles on PBWs biggest show of the year?

Means the world. The fact that it’s for PBW who trained me and taught me everything I know makes it that much more special. The fact it was with Lou was special for me also because he has always went out his way to help me. When it became clear that our characters fell within the same ballpark it would have been easy for him not to be too keen on it but instead he went out his way to advise me on how to carry a character through a match. When you put they two factors together it was an honour.

You and Lou King Sharp have been tagging for a wee while now and are part of a growing division of young tag teams in Scotland. How far do you see this team going and will there be a plentiful amount of dancing and maw shaggin along the way?

No need to worry, for the foreseeable future I’ll be dishing out scuddings and Lou will be sending yer maw scuddies. The tag division in Scotland is full of great talent. It’s no my place to say where we fit into that, that is the job of fans and promoters to decide. We will continue to work as hard as anyone and take any opportunity that comes our way.

You recently had your first run on the holiday camps with Kid Fite and co. How was that experience? Getting to wrestle so much in a short period, do you feel it helped your learning process a lot?

I had a 9/10 week run wrestling the best in the UK 5 days a week. If I wasn’t working them, BT Gunn and/or Kid fite gave me feedback after every one of they matches. So to answer your question it made me much better. At my stage of development what I was crying out for was reps. Consistent work, improving my wrestling and fine tuning my character. Thanks to Kid Fite giving me the nod I got all of that this summer. There is a long way to go for me and I have a lot of improving still to do but the camp run made huge improvements to myself.

How would you describe your character? Like if I’d never seen you do your thing, how would you sum yourself up? Just a mad patter merchant that loves scuddin cunts?

Fito (clown owes me a fiver for plugging him so much on this) likes to describe me as “Lous big mosher brother” I think for a one sentence answer that’s the best.

Just a mad patter merchant that loves scudding folk is my tinder bio.

It was actually an interview with the bold Fito conducted in Kriegers car that made me pay particular attention to him, and sure as fuck he proved to be the standout on the trainee show PBW were running in Greenock that night. So a plug for a plug int it. If the guy who does the single greatest snap suplex in wrestling thinks yer decent, you must be doing something right.

..

You’re a PBW academy graduate. Tell us a bit about the school and what sets it apart from the others? Who have your main influences been during training?

One of the great things is that there are loads of top schools in Scotland each trained by people who have a wealth of experience. For me PBW has been brilliant, TJ Rage and Kid Fite trained me and they are very much believers of you get out exactly what you put in. If they see how bad you want it they will do everything in their power to make it happen for you. I am a prime example of that. If you work your arse off for they two they will give it back tenfold. My biggest training influences (outwith my trainers) is probably Kenny Williams. Kenny has only taken training a handful of times whilst I have attended but he started where I did and look where he is now. One of the very best in Europe

You make your first (I believe) main roster ICW appearance soon. Has becoming a regular there been a goal for you, and how do you intend to make that happen?

Anyone who says they wouldn’t want to be an ICW roster member is at the noise up. Of course that’s a goal but, at the moment, possibly unrealistic for myself. My immediate goal is to solidify my place in the promotions I work for in Scotland and build on my work down south. If I can do that and make a bit of a buzz around myself then ICW could become a regular thing but only if I continue to work hard and improve.

So you tag with TJ Rage and Lou King Sharp. One big, one wee. Aw the dynamics. The big question is, who’d ye like better?

Fuck me. Both teams bring their own benefits and challenges. Both of them are extremely talented and I need to be at my best to not look out of place when I team with either of them. I appreciate the help both these guys continue to give me.

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The classic “I prefer the wee guy but don’t want the big guy to leather me” response. Safe but respectful. Hopefully reading this wee bit means big TJ will batter him anyway for a giggle.

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With Scottish/British wrestling going through a “boom” period right now, how much of a buzz is it to be slap bang in the middle of it trying to carve out a name for yourself in an era where opportunities are plentiful?

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The generation that have came before us have taken Scottish wrestling to a level never thought possible. They are the reason people like myself have the opportunity to hone our craft in front of packed out venues up and down the country. Without their hard work none of us would stand a chance. It undoubtedly is easier for us to make a break nowadays but fuck me we don’t half have a hard job following this group of wrestlers.

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Who were your wrestling influences growing up? Anyone in particular you try to channel through your own work?

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Growing up it was the attitude era guys as I’m sure most 22 year olds would say. In terms of people who I try to replicate I would probably say Michael Hayes. Guy was a big flamboyant guy who could either make a crowd love him or hate him, if I can replicate that even 50% we might have something.

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No gonnae lie, got a wee semi for that answer. Being a generic pants n kickpads wrestler man is fine, but unless you’re flawless at the grapplin’ it’ll go nowhere. Be a fuckin freebird and be something.

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Anyone on the scene you’ve yet to aim the scuddin boots at but would like the chance to?

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A few cause it’s too hard to just say one Stevie Xavier. Guy is a class act. Never seen him have a bad match. Aaron Echo, never really crossed paths despite training almost exact the same amount of time.

What’s the big aim for Krieger? What are you personally looking to get out of this wrestling carry-on?

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The big aim is to make a living from this carry on. I want to get to a level where this can be my full time job. In order to do that I have a lot of improving to do, so immediate plan is to continue to ask anyone and everyone for advice and make the most of every opportunity I get.

PBW academy has schools in Greenock, Barrhead and Airdrie every Sunday.
PBW has launched its on demand service where you can see any PBW show soon after its been. This includes Noam Dars last match for PBW(me and lou pure scudded him) that time me and Lou battered two power rangers. That other time me and Lou scudded Wolfie and Hearto just cause we could and soon our glorious tag title win...
BCW needs no plugging as it sells out 3 month in advance nowadays but they have given me so many opportunities I need to to thank them here...
Twitter- @kriegerPBW
Instagram- @KriegerPBWwww.facebook.com/KriegerPBW/

Big thank you to the massively talented David J.Wilson for the photos and to big Krieger for his time. Talented dude. Lots of charisma and seems to be finding his niche so keep an eye out and come and see his ICW main roster debut at The Garage the night before Fear and Loathing at The Hydro.